40 races, 40 finishes: Meet the 61-year-old who's never missed the Twin Cities Marathon
COLOGNE, Minn. – When the Twin Cities Marathon gets underway Sunday morning, 61-year-old Scott Knight of Cologne will be in the thick of the pack.
"I'm feeling good," Knight said. "The weather looks awesome; we've got a good weekend for the spectators to come out. I'm excited for a good 40th year, to get things back to normal, and have fun."
Knight grew up an athlete, but not necessarily a runner. Like many great stories, his marathon journey started with a bet from a friend.
"I was at a bar one night and someone bet me, 'Do you want to run a marathon?' I like challenges, so I took it on, from there it was history," he said.
Knight's first marathon was the Winter Carnival.
"It was 18 below zero," he said. "I ran the 26 miles and figured out I could do it. After that, I figured I have to start training better."
In the late 1980s, a new challenge presented itself: the first ever Twin Cities Marathon.
"I remember then, we got white cotton T-shirts, and it was exciting, because it was in the Twin Cities," he said. "It's a great run, it's a wonderful run. You start in Minneapolis, and the best part is when you make that corner, and then for the last mile you see the Capitol. That's the best part."
Knight is part of a group of just more than a dozen "charter members," or runners who've competed in every race.
"It's one of those things that you keep doing for other people that can't do it, I guess," he said. "Our charter club is, I think we're down to 13. Even the ones that didn't run, they're still to me, in my mind, amazing people."
While running technology and fashions have changed over the years and the weather has stayed forever unpredictable, Knight says he'll keep running as long as he can.
"It's a great run, it's a wonderful run," he said.
